The leaves are falling and the weather has turned a bit. It’s already October and we’ll be posting information on upcoming Halloween events in the area. This post is dedicated to spooky and ghostly happenings the staff at the Woodlands Cemetery and Mansion (40th & Woodland) have prepared for local residents and visitors. This is the first year that The Woodlands is offering so many Halloween-themed events – and they’re collaborating on a lot of them with other local organizations and businesses. Are you ready to get frightened? Then read on. (By the way, stay tuned for future posts on our annual pumpkin carving contest.)

Spirits of The Woodlands: Haunted Cemetery Tours

This October, Curio Theatre Company and The Woodlands are teaming up to present Spirits of The Woodlands: Haunted Cemetery Tours. For three nights only (October 24, 25, and 26), you can experience The Woodlands as you’ve never seen it by taking a guided tour after dark to some of the final resting places of the Cemetery’s most notorious residents. You’ll hear torrid tales, spooky stories, and scary spirits abound this Halloween (and you’ll even be invited to join the hauntings in a mausoleum). There are six tours every night, starting at 8:00 p.m., and a limited number of tickets ($20/person) are available. To buy tickets, click here.

The Return of Edgar Allan Poe

The night of mystery and macabre is back by popular demand. Literary historian and playwright Rob Velella returns to bring the work of Edgar Allan Poe to life on Tuesday, Oct 15, from 6:30 until 9:00 p.m. Valella will demonstrate some of Poe’s most loved works. After the performance, you’ll have the unique opportunity for a nighttime cemetery walk to visit Poe’s contemporary, Timothy Shay Arthur, at his eternal resting spot. Also a writer, Arthur was a fellow member of the literary coterie Seven Stars. Tickets for this event ($15) are available here.

All Hallow’s Read

Little ones and grown-ups alike are invited to this fun event. Books about monsters, pumpkins, goblins and ghosts, fall books, harvest books, and other seasonal reads will be hidden throughout the cemetery in age-appropriate sections and the book will be on on Saturday, Oct 19, 1:00-3:00 p.m. To sweeten the deal, cold treats from Weckerly’s Ice Cream will be provided! (In case of rain, this event will be held on Sunday, Oct 20 from 1:00-3:00 p.m.)

Halloween 

Finally, bring your kids for some treats at the mansion on Halloween day (October 31) from noon-4 p.m. before the tot parade in Spruce Hill.

To learn more about The Woodlands and upcoming events at the historic cemetery and mansion, visit: http://woodlandsphila.org/.

After six years of uncertainty and false starts, it seems that the 40th Street Methodist Episcopal Church will finally undergo demolition to make way for 7,000-square-feet of retail space—or so the Daily Pennsylvanian reports.

Photo by Annamarya Scaccia/West Philly Local.

According to the DP, construction on the former house of worship, which stood at 125 S. 40th Street for 136 years, is expected to be complete by April 2014, but the developers, P&A Associates, have yet to release a specific work timeline. A search on Philadelphia License & Inspections site, though, does return multiple hits for the church address, one being a new construction permit that was issued in June to architectural firm Albert Taus & Associates and contractor Joe Freidman Construction Corp. If finished by next spring, the humble Romanesque-style two-story church—a gaping shell of its prior appeal—will become home to Dunkin Donuts, Whirled Peace Frozen Yogurt, Zesto Pizza and a fourth yet-to-be-identified commercial space.

Designed by leading mid-nineteenth century architects Samuel Sloan and Addison Hutton, the 40th Street Methodist Episcopal Church was home to three congregations before it was sold to P&A for $2 million in 2007. The previous owners, St. Joseph’s Baptist Congregation, worshipped in the village sanctuary for 50 years until it moved to a larger space six years ago, according to Hidden City Philadelphia. Prior to St. Joseph’s, it served First Church of the Covenanters from 1908 to 1954, which took over the church from Centennial Methodist Episcopal—the budding congregation that originally purchased the land in 1860 and erected Methodist Episcopal in 1871. Continue Reading

At the corner of Lancaster and 38th, the curved facade of Hawthorne Hall stands just as it did 100 years ago when fraternal organizations and civic associations were its main occupants. But inside is a whole different story: cabinets have been transformed into doorways, attics into twisted dining halls, dust-covered rooms into art galleries.

This makeover is the work of the Rabid Hands Art Collective, which transformed the space into an art exhibit celebrating the building’s mysterious history for the 2013 Hidden City Festival.

Last weekend, the nonprofit news site Hidden City returned to Hawthorne Hall for a guided tour of the Powelton area. Powelton–bordered roughly by Lancaster Ave., Haverford, Race and 32nd Streets– is a mix of student housing and large Victorian mansions and duplexes.

Photos by Alex Vuocolo.

As tour guides Rachel Hildebrandt and Caroline Acheatel explained, Powelton was once home to a class of entrepreneurs and business managers from the mid-1800s that were excelling in new industrial fields. These individuals spread into West Philadelphia as railways and bridges were built across the Schuylkill River and the area’s large agricultural estates were subdivided into neighborhoods.

But Powelton is more than frat houses and old mansions. Hildebrandt and Acheatel, both employees at Partners for Sacred Places, guided the tour through a mix of inconspicuous cultural landmarks and historical buildings, including backyard museums, the building where Alfred Barnes (of The Barnes Foundation fame) built his fortune in pharmaceuticals, and a church adapted for affordable apartments.

The tour’s strong suit was that it explored the interiors and unknown histories of places many of us pass by everyday.

The Ellen Powell Tiberino Memorial Museum, for example, is just off Hamilton and 38th on a quiet stretch of residential homes. Without venturing down the museum’s alley entrance, you might never know that a courtyard formed from connected backyards contained original art from two generations of the Tiberino family.

The Cloisters, a church converted into apartments at Spring Garden and 38th, is equally discreet. Besides a large banner reading “now renting,” there is little to suggest that within its stone walls there are over 64 units of affordable housing.

To discover more of Philadelphia’s past, keep an eye out for Hidden City tours around the city.

– Alex Vuocolo

Hawthorne Hall. Photo via Hiddencityphila.org.

West Philly neighbors and friends have a great opportunity to learn more about the Powelton and Garden Court neighborhoods and their hidden architectural gems at a series of neighborhood walking tours that begin on Saturday, Sept 21. Here’s more details:

• Two Powelton Village tours, organized by Hidden City, will take place on Saturday (Sept 21). Each event will start with a tour of Hawthorne Hall, home to a remarkable installation created for the 2013 Hidden City Festival. Then participants will get a chance to check out the Divine Tracy once owned by Father Divine’s Peace Mission Movement, the Hotel Powelton (Albert Barnes’s first factory), the Cloister, a gorgeous church converted to apartments, and more.

The tours will be led by Rachel Hildebrandt, a writer for the Hidden City Daily, who has an MA in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania and now works at Partners for Sacred Places, and Caroline Acheatel, who is also of Partners for Sacred Places.

The tour hours are: 1:00 p.m.  –  2:30 p.m. and 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. and the starting point is Hawthorne Hall, 3849 Lancaster Ave. Tickets are $20 ($15 for members) and spots can be reserved here (Tour I) and here (Tour II).

• Also beginning Saturday, Sept 21, there will be a few chances to explore the Garden Court neighborhood. “Farm to Ford” is the name of this historical walking tour. Organized by Garden Court Community Association, it is scheduled for Sept 21, Oct 5, 12 and 19 (all Saturdays).

During this tour you will learn the history of the neighborhood from its rural beginnings to today. You will also find out which children’s author made her livelihood here and discover a “secret” garden typically closed to visitors.

The tours will run from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and the starting point is in the courtyard of the Lea Elementary School, on 47th, between Spruce and Locust Streets. Tickets are only $5 (only cash accepted) and the organizers would appreciate if you RSVP at: GCCAtour@gmail.com. More information is available on the event’s Facebook page.

Historic March on Washington August 28, 1963.

Fifty years ago this week, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his pivotal “I Have a Dream” speech in front of a crowd of over 250,000 civil rights supporters during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963. It was one of the largest human rights political rallies in the country and was instrumental in advancing civil and political rights for decades to come.

This Wednesday, in honor of the 50^th anniversary of the march, neighborhood organizer Algernong Allen will hold an audio playing of Dr. King’s famous speech in Cedar Park on 49^th Street and Baltimore Avenue at 6:30 p.m. The event, titled “March on West Philly,” is free and open to the public.

While no formal discussion is planned for after the event, Allen encourages community residents to stay and discuss both the speech and strategies for advancing civil rights.

“I wanted to celebrate the beauty of the original March on Washington, and felt that others would like to be able to do the same in some way,” Allen wrote in an e-mail to West Philly Local. “I want people to walk away more connected, more neighborly to those neighbors who look different, and reminded that there is still work to do.”

Some progress has been made in the five decades since that historic march, but civil rights are still under threat from Voter ID laws introduced and passed through state governments, the disproportionate number of people of color incarcerated, disparity in wages between genders and races and law enforcement profiling. So Allen hopes that the event can also mobilize West Philly residents to work together “to cultivate and extend the borders of a good quality of life”—to continue the fight for Dr. King’s dream.

“To those on the front lines of the civil rights movement, we owe a debt. A debt which we repay by our continued diligence in creating a world for our children in which our society, marches toward the highest aspects of our humanity,” Allen said. “Dr. King’s speech symbolizes and articulates that.  This is how we can say thank you, and rebroadcast the message of the movement that inspired the man.”

–Annamarya Scaccia

Dock Street beer was reincarnated in an old firehouse near 50th and Baltimore six years ago this week. The brewpub, which despite initial concerns has proven to be an anchor in the Cedar Park neighborhood, is throwing a party to celebrate.

Draft beers will be available at half price from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday as part of the celebration. Dock Street will also release Trappist IPA, which was brewed with past Dock Street Brewer Scott Morrison, George Hummel of Homesweet homebrew and Tom Peters of Monk’s Café.

Rosemarie Certo raises a glass during Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll in 2012. Photo by Mike Lyons/West Philly Local.

The party is also a chance to look back at how Dock Street came to the firehouse, which was the center of a community controversy for many years. Many will recall the debut of the original Dock Street, Philly’s first microbrewery, back in 1985. Rosemarie Certo and her husband Jeffrey Ware later sold the brewpub, located in Logan Square, in 1998. A few years later, after it folded, Certo bought back the bottling rights and the name.

The stately brick building, built in 1903, has its own storied history. Here is the short version for those who need caught up: Fire companies Engine 68 and Ladder 13 moved out of the building in 1984 and there was a good chance that it would go on the auction block and, very possibly, be demolished. In stepped Cedar Park Neighbors, which bought the building for $1 from the city. The neighborhood organization helped save it by taking out a loan to renovate the building, which had become an eyesore with boarded up windows and decaying bricks. Members also helped lead the West Philadelphia Future Fund, which raised and distributed money to attract minority-owned businesses to the new farmers market opened inside the firehouse in 1988. The market had everything from working bakers and butchers to fish mongers.

That said, this is Philly, and the farmers market was not without its controversies, including complaints from potential tenants that the rent was too high.

“This project has been planned so that the community can see that there can be efforts where minorities can be providers as well as consumers,” a person involved in the project told The Philadelphia Inquirer at the time. “If this works, this will be a model for the whole state.”

It didn’t quite work out that way and by the late 1990s the main part of the building was empty again.Cedar Park Neighbors kicked into gear again and petitions started going around. Some nearby churches feared the brewpub would do more harm than good for the area and there was heated debate. Again, this is Philly – West Philly.

After a possible spot in Mount Airy fell through, Dock Street applied to the city to open a brewpub and pizzeria in the space, which was in the heart of what The Philadelphia Inquirer called “the gentrification frontier” in September 2007.

Dock Street opened on Aug. 20, 2007 and since then has helped attract more new businesses to the neighborhood. Back then there was a party, just like tomorrow.